Artscape returns to Baltimore onJuly 15, 16 and 17 onMount Royal AvenueandNorth Charles Street. This year’s theme,“Space: Explore What’s Out There,” will be the inspiration throughout the festival’s visual and performing arts programs. Hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean plays the headline performance onFriday, July 15 at 7:30 p.m. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones will perform on Saturday, July 16 at 7:30 p.m., and theLegendary Burning Spear will play on Sunday, July 17 at 6:30 p.m. All will perform on theBGE Main Stage at the Maryland Institute College of Art.For a complete schedule of music performances, visit www.artscape.org.

The theme is a nod to the vast STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics)-related organizations and businesses within the Baltimore Metropolitan region and to pop culture’s current fascination with all things intergalactic.

The festival features six space-related large-scale art installations: ART/HAB, a space-age habitat housed in three geodesic domes, Celestial Light – Act 1. Sun and Act 2. Moon, two large-scale sculptural elements that measure 20 feet high and feature performance art; Crater!, a fictional meteor crash site-turned alternative art space; Moloch’s Institute for Extranormal Research that explores “the truth about alien visitors to planet earth;” Space Place, consisting of illuminated inflatable planets and the sun; and the The Mother Ship Connection, an exhibit of performance art featuring a model mother ship. Festival goers will be able to explore the physical, relatable distance of space travel with “The Grand Tour,” a model “solar system” of planets on Charles Street.

New for 2016, Artscape hosts “Prince Dance Party – Party Like It’s 1999 AGAIN!,” a tribute to Prince with DJs and “Bmore Does Bowie,” a tribute to David Bowie with bands during Artscape After Hours presented by OrderUp at the Johns Hopkins University Station North Stage on Friday and Saturday from 9-11pm. Artscape offers free events and programming at Motor House (120 West North Avenue) this year, including a performance of Dreamgirls Friday, July 15 at 7:30 pm.

Also, new this year, Artscape introduces Kidscape Academy, a demonstration tent at Kidscape featuring STEAM-related education and entertainment for youth with programming from the Space Telescope Science Institute and other organizations. Artscape’s food and beverage program is more local and sustainable than ever with 100% of food vendors from Maryland and a festival-wide ban on Styrofoam materials. Artscape will partner with Accessible Festivals to ensure full accessiblity.

In addition to the BGE Main Stage at the Maryland Institute College of Art, TheJohns Hopkins University Station North Stage and The Morgan State University Sound Off Live! Stage continue to featurethe talents of local, regional and national acts from a wide variety of genresplus performances by the winners of this year’s Sound Off Live! competition: Foggy May, Coexist & Devin Jano, Orchester Prazevica, Gotham Theory, Greenspan, Tongue in Cheek, High Bird, Essential Vybe, Modern Nomad and Lost Keys.

Artscape features three space-related visual art exhibits indoors for festivalgoers to enjoy all weekend long. Inside the lobby of the Artscape Playhouse (1727 North Charles Street) is NASA’s Sun As Art Exhibit,consisting of 20 full-color, high-resolution images of the sun as seen from space. Inside MICA’s Pinkard Gallery (1401 West Mount Royal Avenue) is Solarium, an exhibit featuring large-scale video imagery from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, courtesy of Universities Space Research Association and The Hubble Space Telescope Exhibit, courtesy of the Space Telescope Science Institute that is a collection of remarkable Hubble Telescope images as well as interactive media that transports the viewer into space.

Returning to Artscape is [email protected] inside the Artscape Playhouse (1727 North Charles Street), a pop-up comedy club with host Umar Kahn during Artscape After Hourspresented by OrderUp, Friday and Saturday from 9-11pm and Gamescape, presented by the University of Baltimore, a video game designer’s showcase inside the H. Mebane Turner Learning Commons (1415 Maryland Avenue) during regular festival hours. Visual artists, artisans and crafters from the Baltimore region and beyond continue to showcase their wares at the Artists’ Market along West Mount Royal Avenue and the Artist-Run Art Fair at 1714 North Charles Street. Also, visitors can continue to enjoy street theater performances on the steps of the MICA Main Building (1300 West Mount Royal Avenue) and spontaneous pop-up performances festival-wide all weekend long. An eclectic offering of theater, jazz and opera performances take place at the Theatre Project (45 West Preston Street) and The Brown Center (1301 West Mount Royal Avenue), as well as classical music and organ concerts at Corpus Christi Church (110 West Lafayette Avenue).

The seven finalists for the 11th annual Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize competition have their artwork on display in the Thalheimer Galleries of The Baltimore Museum of Art with the fellowship winner announced on Saturday, July 9, 2016. The semi-finalists exhibition is on display in the Decker and Meyerhoff galleries at the Maryland Institute College of Art from Friday, July 15 through Sunday, July 31 with an opening reception on Thursday, July 14 from 6 to 9 pm. This exhibition expands on the finalists’ exhibition at The Baltimore Museum of Art by exhibiting the very broad and dynamic range of remaining artists whose work was reviewed in depth in the second round of the Sondheim review. Exhibited with the Semi-Finalists Exhibition is the winner of the Fred Lazarus IV Artscape Prize (“The Fred”): Hannah Smoot, Baltimore School for the Arts.

The Artscape Gallery Network connects more than 20 galleries throughout Baltimore to a wider audience through a promotional campaign to provide those interested in the visual arts with an opportunity to enjoy the works of talented artists before, during and after Artscape. The Artscape Gallery Network exhibitions highlight the 2016 Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize applicants, along with artists working throughout the region.

At Kidscape, visitors use their creative spirits to make space-themed arts and crafts, participate in demonstrations, face painting, and family-friendly entertainment. Arts and crafts activities and hands-on experiences are offered by the Walters Art Museum, the Y in Central Maryland, Port Discovery, and the Space Telescope Science Institute. Kidscape also features its very own “space ship,” an art car called “We Come in Peace” by Sue Caldwell,decorated in foam core, paper maché, sequins and hand-knit “aliens.”

Artscape is produced by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts. Attracting more than 350,000 festival-goers annually with an economic impact of $25.97 million, Artscape features a full schedule of performing arts including live concerts from national, regional and local acts on multiple outdoor stages and a wide variety of opera, theater, street theater, classical music and jazz performances. Additionally, the festival showcases visual artists from the Baltimore region and beyond through an artists’ market, outdoor & indoor exhibitions and an extensive variety of local food and beverage vendors. Admission is free.

Attendees are encouraged to download the 2016 Artscape Mobile App, free for Apple and Android devices. Users can create their own custom schedule with the app and interact with festivalgoers via a live feed on the home page. For more information on Artscape, visit www.Artscape.org or call 410-752-8632. Join the conversation by following Artscape on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and using the hashtags #Artscape2016 and #ExploreWhatsOutThere.

The Baltimore Office of Promotion &The Arts is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization which serves as Baltimore City’s arts council, film office, and events agency. By producing large-scale events such as Light City, Artscape and the Baltimore Book Festival, and providing funding and support to artists, arts programs and organizations across the city, BOPA’s goal is to make Baltimore a more vibrant and creative city.